The group of people was led by Zhu Feng'er to the inn. She led the way on horseback and rode alongside Li Zhiyun. Zhu Feng'er glanced at Li Zhiyun and said, "King Chu, how old are you?"
"Sixteen years old."
"Wow, you are one year younger than me. I heard that you are very good at fighting, no worse than Li Shimin."
"Miss Zhu is overly praised, how can I compare with my second brother?"
Zhu Feng'er was very interested in talking and said: "Is Chang'an City fun? I heard that Chang'an City is very big and prosperous."
"Ms. Zhu has never been to Chang'an?"
"No. But I'd love to see it."
"If Miss Zhu has the opportunity to go to Chang'an, I will definitely accompany Miss Zhu throughout the city of Chang'an."
"Okay, let's make it a deal!"
The two chatted all the way, and soon they arrived at the post house. Zhu Feng'er was very enthusiastic and was busy making arrangements. She didn't say goodbye until Li Zhiyun and the others were settled. Thanks to her, many things are much easier to handle.
Li Zhiyun sent Zhu Feng'er out of the gate of the post house, turned around and said to Zhang Zheng who was following him: "Although Zhu Can is a terrible person, his daughter is quite good!" Zhang Zheng said: "She is very friendly to our Tang Dynasty. I heard The envoy said that it was because of her strong persuasion that Zhu Can agreed to submit to the Tang Dynasty."
"Oh I got it."
Everyone rested in the post house for a day, and the next day the ceremony for Zhu Can's canonization as King of Wu would be held. According to etiquette, the ceremony was presided over by Li Zhiyun, and Duan Que read out the canonization edict, but Duan Que refused to do it, saying that he would never work for the cannibal demon. Yesterday at the city gate, Duan Que always had a straight face, without a smile on his face, which shows his deep hatred for Zhu Can.
Duan Que used to be a censor, and he had a distinguished position, but he couldn't get rid of the dirt in his eyes. Li Zhiyun couldn't force him, so he had to let Zhang Zheng do it for him. Among the people brought by Li Zhiyun, apart from Duan Que, Zhang Zheng had the highest rank.
The next day, the canonization ceremony was held in the lobby of the state government office. Li Zhiyun sat at the head, Zhu Can, wearing a crown and nine python purple robes, stood down the hall. Zhang Zheng stood on one side and read out the edict, and then put the canonization edict next to him. He handed it to Zhu Can along with the seal and ribbon in the tray he carried. In this way, Zhu Can became the King of Wu in the Tang Dynasty.
Zhu Can was originally an assistant official of Chengfu (now Bozhou, Anhui). In December of the 11th year of Daye (AD 615), he fled with the Sui army during the expedition against the rebel army in Changbai Mountain (located in today's Zouping County, Shandong) and gathered people to cause trouble. Zhu Can claimed to be King Garuda and had more than 100,000 followers. He led his troops to plunder between the Han River and the Huai River. The army moved irregularly. Every time he conquered a state or county, it moved again before eating up the food accumulated in that state or county. When leaving the prefecture and county, all the remaining materials in the prefecture and county were burned, and there was no emphasis on agricultural production. As a result, a serious famine occurred. The bones of the people who starved to death piled up in mountains, and there were cases of cannibalism. Zhu Can's army had nothing to plunder and there was a shortage of food in the army. Zhu Can asked the soldiers to cook women and children to eat, and said to his subordinates: "There is no food more delicious than human flesh. As long as there are people in other towns, Why worry about going hungry?”
In May of the first year of Wude (AD 618), Zhu Can fought against Ma Yuangui, the envoy to the south of Datang Mountain, in Champion (now Deng County, Henan Province), and Zhu Can's army was defeated. Later, Zhu Can fought against Zhou Chao, the governor of Xuanzhou in the Tang Dynasty, and was defeated again. In October of that year, Lu Zizang and Ma Yuangui, the governor of Dengzhou in the Tang Dynasty, attacked Zhu Can and defeated him. Lu Zizang suggested to Ma Yuangui: "Zhu Can has just lost the battle, and his troops are very timid. I request to join forces with you to attack him, so that he can be eliminated in one fell swoop. If it continues to be delayed, Zhu Can's troops will gradually shrink and their strength will increase. If they run out of food, they will fight us desperately, which will definitely become a serious problem." Ma Yuangui did not listen to his advice. Lu Zizang also requested that his own troops attack Zhu Can, but Ma Yuangui also refused.
Soon, Zhu Can gathered the remaining troops and revitalized his army, with 200,000 troops. He led his army to attack Dengzhou. Lu Zizang beat his chest and said to Ma Yuangui: "Because of you, I will be killed now!" After Zhu Can captured Dengzhou, he besieged Nanyang. Due to the large number of enemy troops, Lu Zizang's cronies persuaded him to surrender. Lu Zizang said: "How can any of the emperor's ministers surrender to the robbers?" After Nanyang City was breached, Lu Zizang led his men to charge towards the enemy and died in the battle. . Later, Ma Yuangui also died in the battle.
On October 25 of the same year, Zhu Can invaded Xizhou. The Tang Dynasty sent Taichang Qing Zheng Yuanxuan to lead 10,000 infantry and cavalry to attack Zhu Can. On December 11, Zheng Yuanzhen defeated Zhu Can in Shangzhou, and Zhu Can's military strength was slightly reduced.
The day after the crowning ceremony, Zhu Feng'er came to the post house to find Li Zhiyun and said that she was entrusted by Yan Minchu to invite Li Zhiyun and others to visit Yan Mansion. Li Zhiyun respected Yan Minchu and wanted to get to know him, so he agreed. He originally wanted to ask Shang Duan Que to go with him, but the old man ran out to the street to drink early in the morning, so he had to give up.
Li Zhiyun took Zhang Zheng, Cai Hu and Yinggu and followed Zhu Feng'er on horseback to Yan Mansion. Yan Minchu was already waiting in front of the mansion. He invited Li Zhiyun and others into the hall, and after the guests and hosts sat down, the maid served tea, and Yan Minchu invited the guests to tea with a smile.
Li Zhiyun picked up the tea cup and took a sip, then put it down and said, "Mr. Yan, your father's name is astonishing. The "Yan Family Instructions" written by him has been widely circulated and has far-reaching influence."
"Oh?" Yan Minchu was surprised, "Does the King of Chu also know about Jia Yan's clumsy work?"
Li Zhiyun nodded and said: "I know a little bit about it. "The Yan Family Instructions" expounds the methods of running a family. Some of the famous sentences are impressive, such as: To accumulate tens of millions of wealth, there is no fault of reading; to go to court to hear the Tao , you can die at night; it is easy to go from simplicity to luxury, and it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality, etc. "Yan Family Instructions" is grand in style and profound in connotation, and will surely be passed down through the ages."
After hearing this, Yan Minchu smiled happily and said: "If my father is still alive in heaven, he will be deeply gratified to know that the King of Chu has such a high opinion of the book he wrote!"
Li Zhiyun continued: "Mr. Yan, if you teach your children well, the Yan family will surely have a long history and a large number of talents!"
What he said was true, but in Yan Minchu's ears, it turned out to be a compliment. However, who in the world doesn’t like to hear good things? Yan Minchu immediately felt that the distance between him and the King of Chu had become much closer, and he began to talk more.
While Li Zhiyun and Yan Minchu were chatting in the hall, Zhu Feng'er went to the back hall. She was looking for Mrs. Yan. Although they have known each other for less than half a year, Zhu Feng'er and Mrs. Yan have become best friends, and they like to come to chat with her whenever they have nothing to do.
Zhu Feng'er walked into the inner room and saw Mrs. Yan sitting at the desk tutoring two children in their studies. The two children are an eight-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl.
Mrs. Yan is in her twenties, a well-born lady, dignified and beautiful. Although she is dressed in everyday clothes, she is also elegant and elegant. She wears a flower braid over her skirt, covering the slightly bulging curves of her chest. Because they were very familiar with each other, when she saw Zhu Feng'er coming in, she didn't get up to give up her seat. She just smiled and said, "Feng'er is here?" Zhu Feng'er agreed, moved a bench and sat down next to her, watching the children read and write. Mrs. Yan looked at her and said, "Is King Chu of the Tang Dynasty here?" Zhu Feng'er nodded and said, "He is here, talking to Mr. Yan in the front hall."
After a pause, Mrs. Yan said with a smile: "Thankfully you persuaded your father to submit to the Tang Dynasty, and he took the right path." Zhu Feng'er sighed and said: "It seems pretty good now, but I'm afraid of his ambition. If you are not strong, you cannot be consistent and completely change the bad habits of the past." Mrs. Yan smiled and said: "Don't worry too much. As the saying goes, those who are close to red are red, and those who are close to ink are black. Since he has taken refuge in the Tang Dynasty, he will definitely be better in the future. He will practice benevolent government and benefit the people."
"I hope so." After Zhu Feng'er said this, she lowered her head and said to the two children, "Xin'er, Yun'er, do you want to meet the King of Chu from the Tang Dynasty?" The two children raised their heads and looked at her, nodding.
"Okay, I'll take you there." Zhu Feng'er said, holding one in each hand, and led the two children to the front hall, followed by Mrs. Yan.
Zhu Feng'er led the two children to Li Zhiyun, pointed at him and said: "Xin'er, Yun'er, this is King Chu of the Tang Dynasty. Please call him King Chu." The two children shouted timidly. At this time, Mrs. Yan stepped forward to salute, and Li Zhiyun quickly stood up to return the salute.
Li Zhiyun likes these two children very much. He didn't expect the Yan family to have such a young child, so he didn't prepare a gift, so he took off a jade pendant and a jade pendant from his body as a meeting gift. Mr. Yan and Mrs. Yan quickly declined, and Li Zhiyun said with a smile: "I like these two children very much. I have a fate with them, so let's keep them as a souvenir!" Seeing Li Zhiyun's resolute attitude, the couple couldn't stop them anymore.
When Li Zhiyun came to Jutan this time, in addition to presiding over Zhu Can's kingship ceremony, he also needed labor. On this day, Zhu Can accompanied him to the military camp. Li Zhiyun brought a dozen carriages of condolences this time, and he distributed the condolences to the soldiers to reward them.
In order to express his gratitude, Zhu Can held a banquet at his residence that night to entertain Li Zhiyun and others. Li Zhiyun originally thought Duan Que would not go, but Duan Que said, "Why don't you go if you have a drink? I'll go!"
The banquet was held in the back flower hall of Zhu Can's residence, with a total of five or six tables. In addition to Li Zhiyun, Duan Que and their entourage, many generals under Zhu Can also participated. Li Zhiyun, Duan Que, Zhang Zheng and Cai Hu sat at the main table, accompanied by Zhu Can and two of his trusted generals. At the beginning of the banquet, the atmosphere was pretty good. The guests and hosts drank and laughed happily.
After a few glasses of wine, Duan Que's face glowed red and he started talking more. He looked at Zhu Can and said: "Zhu Can, tonight's wine tastes good, but there is still one shortcoming." Zhu Can felt a little unhappy when he saw that the other party did not call him King Wu, but called him by his first name, but he still said politely: "Duan The deputy envoy has any advice, but there is no harm in speaking."
"There is a lack of silk, bamboo, and sheng music," Duan Que laughed. "Without singing and dancing to accompany the banquet, how can we drink this wine happily?"
